1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas lighter, in particular a piezoelectric gas lighter having a safety device to prevent ignition of the lighter.
2. Description of Related Art
Commercially available gas lighters are dangerous if handled carelessly, particularly by young children. The inadvertent ignition of such gas lighters has resulted in fires causing property damage and injury to people. Therefore, there is a need for a safety device that prevents inadvertent ignition of gas lighters, and in particular makes the lighters difficult for children to operate. Gas lighters sold in commerce are now required by federal law to have ignition safety devices to prevent young children from being able to ignite the lighters.
In the generally available gas lighters, an actuator button, which usually is provided at the top of the lighter body, is depressed against the resistance of a spring to discharge gas fuel stored in the lighter and to actuate the ignition mechanism so that the lighter is ignited. U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,358, to Shike et al., teaches a safety device for such gas lighters including a projection that is attached to the upper part of the lighter body and extends inwardly therefrom, and another opposing part that is provided in a stopper member slidably mounted in the actuator button. When the stopper member is in a locked position, the projection and the opposing part are aligned with each other to prevent depression of the actuator button. When the stopper member is moved relative to the actuator button to an unlocked position, the opposing part of the stopper member is moved out of alignment with the projection in the lighter body and, therefore, the actuator button can be depressed to ignite the lighter.
This lighter, however, is complicated to manufacture because a portion of the actuator button must be cut out so that the button is movable into the lighter body despite the projection which is attached to the lighter body. Moreover, since the projection extends inwardly a short distance from the lighter body, only a limited surface area of the projection is available for contact with the opposing part of the stopper member. Therefore, the safety device could malfunction if the actuator button is pressed down hard, and the gas lighter ignited even though the stopper member is in its locked position.